Mandela draws tens of thousands of mourners and world leaders to stadium
Nelson Mandela Memorial Draws Mourners And World Leaders To South Africa’s Soweto Stadium
World leaders and joyous, singing South Africans gathered on Tuesday to honour Nelson Mandela at a Soweto soccer stadium that was half full, amid cold, driving rain. The crowds twice booed South African President Jacob Zuma who was to give the keynote address at the service, which started an hour late.
Crowds converged on FNB Stadium in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was a stronghold of support for the anti-apartheid struggle that Mandela embodied as a prisoner of white rule for 27 years and then during a peril-fraught transition to the all-race elections that made him president.
Steady rain kept many people away. Shortly before the start of the ceremony, the 95,000-capacity stadium was about 50 per cent full. The ceremony began at noon local time with the singing of the national anthem. The mood, though, was celebratory. A dazzling mix of royalty, statesmen and celebrities was in attendance.
Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who succeeded Mandela, got a rousing cheer as he entered the stands. French President Francois Hollande and his predecessor and political rival, Nicolas Sarkozy, arrived together. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon waved and bowed to spectators who sang praise for Mandela, seen by many South Africans as the father of the nation.
United States President Barack Obama landed in South Africa early Tuesday. Besides Obama, eulogies were to be delivered by U.N. chief Ban, Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao and Cuban President Raul Castro. Other speakers included the presidents of Brazil, Namibia and India, as well as tributes from Mandela’s grandchildren.
Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, and former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela were at the stadium. So were actress Charlize Theron, model Naomi Campbell and singer Bono.
Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of the day when Mandela and South Africa’s last apartheid-era president, F.W. de Klerk, received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to bring peace to their country.
Mandela said in his acceptance speech at the time: “We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be born.”
The sounds of horns and cheering filled the stadium ahead of the ceremony. The rain, seen as a blessing among South Africa’s majority black population, enthused the crowd.
People blew on vuvuzelas, the plastic horn that was widely used during the World Cup soccer tournament in 2010, and sang songs from the era of the anti-apartheid struggle decades ago.
“It is a moment of sadness celebrated by song and dance, which is what we South Africans do,” said Xolisa Madywabe, CEO of a South African investment firm.
10.12.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA
